Oil-for-Terror?
By Claudia Rosett / NRO
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Beyond the billions in graft, smuggling, and lavish living for Saddam Hussein that were the hallmarks of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, there is one more penny yet to drop. It's time to talk about Oil-for-Terror.

Roger L. Simon: Read it. (hat tip: Franco Aleman) SECOND UPDATE: I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but Commentary has now posted online Claudia Rossett's cover story on the subject from their...
Charles Johnson: Oil-for-Terror? Claudia Rosett has been digging into the massive boondoggle known as the UN's Oil for Food program, and today in the National Review she says it's not just a case...
Mitch Berg: It's also just plain untrue, as this long-awaited article by Claudia Rosett shows us.

Glenn Reynolds: OIL-FOR-TERROR: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing.
Steve Antler: Battle of the Scandals — All the angry, indignant yelping about blood for oil and Haliburton has for some time been counterpoised against a real scandal — one which is now being...
Cori Dauber: Now, she clearly does not have this locked down yet. But she has more than enough to make it a real story.

Madrid policeman's body burned
CNN
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MADRID, Spain (CNN) — The body of a Spanish police officer who was killed in a raid on suspected Islamic terrorists was removed from its tomb Sunday night, dragged across a cemetery, doused with gasoline and burned, a Spanish police official told CNN.

Emperor Darth Misha I: The Benefits of Surrender... While we're still busy trying to make this the most boring blog on the Internet due to absence of postings (just a little over a week to go and we...
Cori Dauber: Because (via Memeorandum) Iraq will follow them home. And the new PM can duck talking about such ugliness on his first day, but he cannot duck dealing with it.
Charles Johnson: They Shall Have War — Someone broke into the tomb of a Spanish police officer killed in the recent raid on Islamic terrorists, dragged his body out, and set it on fire: Madrid...

Wretchard: This, from CNN: "MADRID, Spain (CNN) — The body of a Spanish police officer who was killed in a raid on suspected Islamic terrorists was removed from its tomb Sunday night,...
Tom Smith: Those darn terrorists — Body of Spanish policeman burned. Via LGF.

All-left radio is lacking the right stuff for success
By David Shaw / LAT
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If gay journalists marry, is credibility in question? The first time I turned on Air America, the new liberal radio network, I heard a commentator arguing that Republicans did not initiate impeachment proceedings against President Clinton because of Monica Lewinsky, Whitewater, lying or obstruction of justice.

Glenn Reynolds: Shame on him. Of course, David Shaw of the L.A. Times observes: [snipped quote] Ouch. UPDATE: About a million emailers say that Farber is taking Limbaugh out of context, and that...
Captain Ed: Los Angeles Times media critic David Shaw spent Good Friday listening to all 17 hours of Air America, and despite his expressed predilection for the liberal viewpoint, he finds it...
Howard Kurtz: Los Angeles Times columnist David Shaw gives a Bronx cheer to two-week-old liberal radio: "The first time I turned on Air America, the new liberal radio network, I heard a...

Mindles H. Dreck: 'Howard Kurtz is a pig', 'liars, criminals, Nazis", blahblahblah. Via Glenn, I see others have an even stronger reaction.
Jonah Goldberg: ERR AMERICA — The LA Times realizes, reluctantly, that "Air America" is just bad.

Oliver Willis: Heads Up — Keep your eyes out for this The 3,000-word story, embargoed until Tuesday but obtained by E&P today, is based on a "closely held" memo purportedly written by a U.S...
Sean-Paul Kelley: AAN Promises Important Iraq Story Tomorrow — NEW YORK In an unusual move for the organization, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) will release what it promises will...

Atrios: Coming Soon — From E&P: NEW YORK In an unusual move for the organization, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) will release what it promises will be a bombshell...

With CIA Push, Movement to War Accelerated
By Bob Woodward / WaPo
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On Jan. 2, 2002, CIA Director George J. Tenet met with Vice President Cheney — at Cheney's request — to brief him on what the agency could do in Iraq. In the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Iraq was much less of a priority than terrorism for...

Tom Maguire: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Clown — The WaPo excerpts Bob Woodward's book, and our confidence in George Tenet continues its downward spiral: Within the CIA's Near East Division,...
James Joyner: Woodward Book, Part II — WaPo has the second installment of its Bob Woodward book excerpts, "With CIA Push, Movement to War Accelerated."
Betsy Newmark: Here is the latest installment from the Washington Post, if you're interested. It definitely sounds as if someone has it in for George Tenet.

Hesiod: WANNA BUY THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE? I laughed out loud when I read this: [quote] "With some fanfare, McLaughlin stepped up to brief with a series of flip charts.[end quote]
Cori Dauber: THE WOODWARD BOOK — I'll be blogging the press coverage but although as you know the Post has excerpts I won't be blogging that yet. The reason is simple — I missed the start of...
Gary Farber: THAT WACKY WOODWARD. Pt. III. [snipped quote] Oh, those colorful old Company hands.

Scandal With No Friends
By William Safire / NYT
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WASHINGTON — How fares the multination cover-up of the richest rip-off in world history? Obstruction of justice has never had it so good. Last month, after some badgering in this space and elsewhere, the House International Relations Committee announced...

Tom Maguire: Contact (My) Congressman About Oil-For-Fools — Glenn has some links to more news on the UN Oil-for-Food scandal; William Safire pens a column on that very topic, and the...
Greyhawk: And the public affairs office at the world's premier international peace organization is becoming rather busy these days, as William Safire details in the NY Times: "Obstruction...

David Allan Pell: Plan of Attack. Woodward's book. Powell's 480 page letter of resignation.
Taegan Goddard: Powell In Dog House — Secretary of State Colin Powell "has not acknowledged that he cooperated with" Bob Woodward on Plan of Attack, but the book "presents the secretary's...
Angry Bear: But now the NYT is reporting that he and his staff were major sources for Woodward's new book. [snipped quote] AB

Tom Smith: Powell is so gone — The Woodward book guarantees that Powell will not be around for Bush 2.2. The Bushes have this thing about loyalty, being part of the Bush team, even to a...
Howard Kurtz: The Bob Woodward book (with Post excerpts here and here, and a "60 Minutes" launch last night) is already having repercussions, chiefly for presumed source Colin Powell: "For more...

Edward Driscoll: But don't they have editors smart enough to prevent embarrassing columns like this one from being published?

Ramesh Ponnuru: DO YOU KNOW what's wrong with Cuba? The one thing they need that would make life better? Affirmative action, that's what.

Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq
By David Barstow / NYT
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They have come from all corners of the world. Former Navy Seal commandos from North Carolina. Gurkas from Nepal. Soldiers from South Africa's old apartheid government. They have come by the thousands, drawn to the dozens of private security companies that have set up shop in Baghdad.

Alex Tabarrok: The Diamond Age? This NYTimes piece has more on private militaries in Iraq. Here's my earlier post. Does the title confuse? Read this for a vision of the future.
Atrios: Military personnel have an incentive to quit as soon as possible and go work for private companies, at a much higher cost to the military - and to you, the taxpayer.
DHinMI: $4.5 Billion For Mercenaries In Iraq The New York Times has an extensive report on the scope, costs and problems of the military's use of mercenaries in Iraq.

Phil Carter: Update: The New York Times has a front-page article in Monday's paper on the subject of private military contractors, and some of the problems associated with their (over)use in...
Nathan Newman: Because we spend money on private mercenaries rather than building schools and fixing their infrastructure: [snipped quote] They promise reconstruction for the Iraqis and instead...
Gary Farber: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING DEPT. Perhaps it's just me, but was this the best name for a security/protection/military/r isk-management firm? [quote] "New Initiatives To Protect Your Supply...[end quote]

Bush Holds Advantages Over Kerry, Poll Shows
WaPo
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President Bush holds significant advantages over John F. Kerry in public perceptions of who is best equipped to deal with Iraq and the war on terror and has reduced the advantages his Democratic challenger held last month on many domestic issues, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

Tom Maguire: MORE: Brutal news for Kerry from the ABC/WaPo poll: More broadly — among all Americans, not just among those who pick one of these issues as most important to them — Bush has...

Kevin Drum: A large chunk of the American public is obviously very conflicted about whether the war was worthwhile. The Post's writeup, along with links to the poll data, is here.

Gorelick role raised early
By Charles Hurt / Washington Times
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Former acting FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard told the September 11 commission in a private interview earlier this year that he was surprised that Jamie S. Gorelick is serving on the panel because she had played a key role in setting the very counterterrorism policies being investigated.

The Big Trunk: The first Gorelickian oration — The Washington Times brings us the latest revelation in the continuing saga of the Gorelick follies: "Gorelick role raised early"
Captain Ed: Washington Times: Gorelick Not Playing By the Rules — In today's Washington Times, Charles Hurt notes that 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick has not played by the rules set forth...

Tom Smith: Panel told Gorelick had conflict early — This from the Washington Times.
Betsy Newmark: It wasn't just John Ashcroft who was raising doubts about Jamie Gorelicks conflict of interest on the 9/11 Commission.

Hope For Iraq
www.AndrewSullivan.com
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I'm not sure whether any British prime minister has reached the kind of popularity and esteem Tony Blair has in America right now. Thatcher was revered, worshipped, marveled at by conservative Americans. But their liberal peers, despite a kind of fondness that one might feel for a political version of Mrs Slocombe, knew that she was a Bad Thing.

Tom Maguire: Andrew Sullivan is optimistic, today anyway: ...All the news out of Iraq these past couple of weeks has been hyped into a message of despair.
James Joyner: Hope in Iraq — Andrew Sullivan [snipped quote] All hopeful signs, to be sure. The downsides are that 1) Osama is still around to make these announcements and 2) the establishment...
Betsy Newmark: Andrew Sullivan is feeling positive on Iraq. I guess the Sullivanometer is moving back to the Bush direction.

Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan (in his London Times column) and Joel Mowbray have more upbeat assessments.
Brownie @HarrysPlace: After reading Andrew Sullivan on the same page - and squeezing every last drop from my tortured analogy - I finally felt able to burp.
Bo Cowgill: ANDREW SULLIVAN explains his optimism about Iraq.

John Kerry's Silent Spring
By Joe Klein / Time
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A few weeks ago, the Bush campaign launched a negative television ad that many Democratic consultants thought was pretty clever. It featured ancient, goofy Keystone Kops footage and suggested, not too subtly, that John Kerry was pretty goofy too: he supported a 50-a-gal. gas tax.

Steven Taylor: Ouch — Writes Joe Klein of Time in his latest column: [snipped quote] And lest ye are unfamiliar with Klein, he is no Bush booster, to put it mildly.

The somber task of honoring the fallen
By Hal Bernton / Seattle Times
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The aluminum boxes, in ordered rows, are bound by clean white straps on freshly scrubbed pallets. American flags are draped evenly over the boxes. Uniformed honor guards form on either side of the pallets as they move from the tarmac to the entryways of the cargo planes.

David Allan Pell: Answer: The White House. Welcome to game shows (and just about every other form of media and entertainment), Hezbollah style.
Gary Farber: WHEN YOU THINK "HEZBOLLAH," you think only one thing! Great television! Who doesn't? [snipped quote] I can picture the Hezbollah Vanna White, and Kathy Lee Gifford/Kelly Ripa, now.

Allah: "I'd like to solve the puzzle" INT_RNATI_NAL ZI_NI_T C_N_PIRACY

Calling Jews, Nazis
By Manfred Gerstenfeld / Jerusalem Post
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One easy way to capture the essence of anti-Semitism succinctly is to examine European political cartoons. The demonization of Jews has historically included accusations of deicide, religious infanticide, blood lust, and - post World War II - Nazi-like behavior.

Charles Johnson: Calling Jews, Nazis — Manfred Gerstenfeld, chairman of the Board of Fellows of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, says that a common chant of the Eurabian-American far left...

Allah: [quote]We were not in Auschwitz and Dachau to suffer, but to learn." [end quote] * * * "If you want to know the true agent of any catastrophe or any terrorist act, you should look for the Jewish...

Poll: Bush support holds despite Iraq, 9/11 hearings
By Susan Page / USA Today
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WASHINGTON — President Bush's lead over Democrat John Kerry has widened a bit in a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll despite two weeks that have been dominated by a deteriorating security situation in Iraq and criticism of his administration's handling of the terrorism threat before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hugh Hewitt: Two other things; Gallup's got President Bush ahead of Senator Kerry and extending the lead, and Nader's not even in the mix. I remain confident.

Captain Ed: Gallup Poll: Bush Leads By 6 — While it's still a bit too early to take polling numbers seriously, the new CNN/Gallup poll is remarkable given the attacks that the Bush...

Document: Oklahoma City Bombing Was Taped
By John Solomon / AP
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WASHINGTON - A Secret Service document written shortly after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing described security video footage of the attack and witness testimony that suggested Timothy McVeigh may have had accomplices at the scene.

Tom Maguire: More Red Meat From Oklahoma City — Matt Drudge links to an AP story and a .pdf file relating to the Oklahoma City bombing.

Nick @Agonist: Document: Oklahoma City Bombing Was Taped — A Secret Service document written shortly after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing described security video footage of the attack and...

Understanding Sistani's Role
By Vali Nasr / WaPo
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As U.S. forces encircle Najaf to "capture or kill" Moqtada Sadr and disband his militia, the Mahdi Army, it is important that policymakers consider the costs of such an operation. Reining in Sadr and his militia is important to U.S. objectives, but it may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory.

Robert Garcia Tagorda: Notably, serious students of Middle Eastern affairs still believe that Sistani can offer much-needed help.

Cori Dauber: The writer repositions Sistani in ways enormously helpful to an American way of thinking, perhaps an American way of thinking that might be losing a bit of patience with an old...

Bremer Is Increasing Pressure for a Quick End to Iraqi Uprisings
NYT
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BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 18 — With no sign of a breakthrough in talks with rebels in Falluja and Najaf, the leader of the American occupation appeared to move closer on Sunday to a military showdown, saying that the rebels' failure to submit to American demands would require decisive action against those who "want to shoot their way to power."

Donald Sensing: I still say so, but retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni says there is one apt comparison: we wanted a free, democratic Vietnam more than the Vietnamese did, and such it is with Iraq:...

Jeanne: John Burns, in the New York Times, calls the battle "a new shock" because it happened in a place "which had been considered a relatively pacified area."

Kerry Hits Bush 'Sweetheart' Ties with Saudis
By Patricia Wilson / Reuters
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LAKE WORTH, Fla. (Reuters) - Democrat John Kerry on Monday voiced unwavering support for special U.S. ties with Israel and vowed to end "sweetheart relationships" with Arab countries like Saudi Arabia that he said funded terror.

Steve Bainbridge: Interestingly, Kerry seems to see an opening here too:John Kerry on Monday voiced unwavering support for special U.S. ties with Israel and vowed to end "sweetheart relationships"...

A FLYING SQUIRREL
By Howie Carr / New York Post
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ON the issue of affluent Americans paying more income taxes, John Kerry is, as always, consistent in his inconsistency. On the campaign trail, he's in favor of raising taxes on everybody who makes over $200,000 a year.

Mike Hendrix: Oh, about as well you'd expect of a common-man Kennedycrat: [snipped quote] Whaaa….the Democrat Golden Boy - St John of Kerry, of the genus liberalis extremis reactionarius,...
Betsy Newmark: Howie Carr looks at John Kerry's tax returns. "You can learn a lot about a politician by studying his tax returns.

White House disputes parts of Iraq 'secret history'
By Judy Keen / USA Today
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WASHINGTON — Bush administration officials are challenging some assertions in a new book that details the "secret history" of preparations for the war with Iraq, especially the idea that Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell barely speak to each other.

Mathew Gross: They can thank Bob Woodward (and their own arrogance) for that: "Rice denied that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, was told about the decision...

Chinese Gave Cheney Speech Their Own Form of Openness
By Joseph Kahn / NYT
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BEIJING, April 19 — Before his high-profile visit to China last week, Vice President Dick Cheney insisted that Beijing leaders allow him to speak, live and uncensored, to the Chinese people. After weeks of intensive negotiations, Mr. Cheney was granted that measure of openness — but not one millimeter more.

Gary Farber: MICKEY MAO TRICKS. Ah, the liberalizing Chinese government. [snipped quote] Cheney must be so jealous he can't do this stuff. Read The Rest Scale: 2.5 out of 5.

Bush to name Negroponte Iraq ambassador
AP
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WASHINGTON — President Bush plans to name John Negroponte, the United States' current ambassador to the United Nations, as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, an administration official said Monday. The president planned to make the announcement in the Oval Office later Monday, the official said.

Sean-Paul Kelley: Iraq 11:40 Update — President Bush plans to name John Negroponte, the United States' current ambassador to the United Nations, as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, an administration...

Very Different Playbooks
By Michael Ledeen / NRO
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Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill came over and addressed Congress. He asked, rhetorically, "Who do they think we are?" It was an important question, because we must understand what our enemies think about us.

Mike Hendrix: Torrent of lies — Michael Ledeen makes a good point: "In like manner, the terrorists present the world with an endless supply of lies, which generally take the form of accusing...

Charles Johnson: Very Different Playbooks — Michael Ledeen says the terror masters and their media enablers are playing us for suckers: Very Different Playbooks. "The fascists believed that we...

Hugh Hewitt: After unprecedented attacks on a war-time president using unprecedented vitriol; after unprecedented vows of unprecedented and probably illegal spending by an eccentric and...

Jonathan H. Adler: FRIST V. DASCHLE — The Senate Majority Leader is going to South Dakota to campaign for John Thune against Tom Daschle.

Georgia passes laws limiting protests
By Russ Bynum / AP
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BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Robert Randall never knew free speech could cost so much - in dollars and in compromises - until he tried to organize a large-scale, peaceful demonstration for this summer's G-8 summit.

Edward _: For all the talk of patriotism flying about these days, this strikes me as incredibly unAmerican: Georgia Passes Laws Limiting Protests [snipped quote] Perhaps most disturbing in...

Nick Gillespie: How Free Speech Is Done — Dispiriting account of how official "free-speech zones" are being used to contain dissent at this summer's G-8 summit in Brunswick, Georgia: "Organizers...

Greyhawk: Kerry's comments were timed for maximum effectiveness to coincide with Spain's announcement that they were abandoning Iraq.

Captain Ed: Al-Sadr: Muchas Gracias, Amigos — As promised, Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Zapatero has pulled out the Spanish contingent of soldiers from Iraq, resulting in high praise from...

Spare us the righteous tears at the death of another monster
By Barbara Amiel / Telegraph
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Dr Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, who replaced the recently assassinated Hamas leader, Sheikh Yassin, had been at his post less than a month before Israel's targeted killing removed him on Saturday. A month is scarcely enough time to follow up on your initial meet-and-greet, but Rantissi got a few projects off the ground anyway.

Allah: And on the flip side: [quote] If you are against Israel's security fence, in favour of the Arab so-called "right of return" (a demographic weapon of mass destruction which no Israeli...[end quote]
Tim Blair: Also in the UK: Christopher Hitchens dukes it out with anti-war yammerer Scott Lucas, and Barbara Amiel reflects on the efficient removal of a couple of peace barriers: "Moral...

The Big Trunk: Hold the tears — Today's best column is Barbara Amiel's in the Telegraph of London: "Spare us the righteous tears at the death of another monster."

Lack of Resolution in Iraq Finds Conservatives Divided
By David D. Kirkpatrick / NYT
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A growing faction of conservatives is voicing doubts about a prolonged United States military involvement in Iraq, putting hawkish neoconservatives on the defensive and posing questions for President Bush about the degree of support he can expect from his political base.

Nathan Hallford: Neo vs. Paleo: The Times looks at the growing divide between neoconservatives and paleoconservatives over Iraq.

Edward _: From today's New York Times [quote] "If we have to make common cause with the more hawkish liberals and fight the conservatives, that is fine with me, too," [William Kristol, the editor...[end quote]

Transcript for April 18
MSNBC
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PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS NBC TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS." MR. TIM RUSSERT: And we are here in the battleground state of Florida, Florida, Florida. SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D-MA): It's Florida.

Brian Montopoli and Thomas Lang: Spin Buster — Russert Throws Party, Serves Leftovers Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet the Press" has earned respect for his straightforward interview style and blunt questions, and...
Steven Taylor: Indeed, the following from the MTP Transcript for April 18 is rather interesting, given the way that Kerry does not directly answer Russert's questions.
James Joyner: Using my intrepid research skills, I've located the program's transcript and the relevant passages: [snipped quote] It reads as iif Kerry is merely saying that, as a political...

Robert Garcia Tagorda: Meanwhile, John Kerry lacks the same comprehensive approach to democracy promotion. Indeed, as Tim Russert exposed on Meet the Press, the senator has no concrete plan himself.
Stephen Green: Let's Not Quibble Over Baby Killers — More from John Kerry's Meet the Press appearance: [quote] MR. RUSSERT: You used the word "war criminals." SEN. KERRY: Well, let me just finish.[end quote]
Noam Scheiber: WHEN KERRY WAS YOUNG AND IRRESPONSIBLE...: People rooting for John Kerry this November probably cringed a bit while watching "Meet the Press" yesterday, when Tim Russert reminded...

In TV Coverage, Kerry Runs a Deficit
By Howard Kurtz / WaPo
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When President Bush delivered a routine stump speech to a group of New Mexico homeowners on March 26, CNN and Fox News each carried his appearance for 35 minutes, and MSNBC for 33 minutes.

Taegan Goddard: Bush Leads In Media Coverage — "In the daily battle for airtime," President Bush "has drawn more than three times as much live cable coverage" as Sen. John Kerry, "yet another...

Tim Graham: BUSH'S CABLE ADVANTAGE? Today the WashPost investigates a common Democratic beef: President Bush allegedly receives three times as much live cable news coverage as John Kerry.

A Daughter Discovers What Really Happened
By Barry Siegel / LAT
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There were days, growing up in her family's New Jersey home, when the attic beckoned to Judy Palya Loether. That's where her mother had stored every mention of Judy's late father. Elizabeth Palya had no time for grieving or falling apart after her husband died in 1948.

Gary Farber: "In telling the Court otherwise, the Air Force lied. It is for this Court in exercise of its inherent power to remedy fraud, to put things right."
Stuart Buck: Go here for part one and here for part two.

Matt Welch: This little bit of history is recounted in a remarkable, novelistic two-day feature in the Los Angeles Times by legal writer Barry Siegel (part one, part two; give yourself a...
Phil Carter: Part II appears in Monday's paper, and also makes for fascinating reading. Anyone interested in the intersection of law and national security should read this series.

Bush Plans Aid to Build Foreign Peace Forces
By Bradley Graham / WaPo
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Facing a chronic shortage of foreign troops for peacekeeping missions, President Bush has decided to launch an international drive to boost the supply of available forces — a move that if successful could relieve some of the pressure on U.S. soldiers to join such operations, defense officials said.

Cori Dauber: Well, now that's a fine idea, and as the article points out it's an idea we've had before, although the prior funding levels were so low they couldn't even be called a symbolic...

Imminent Threat?
By Pierre Thomas / ABCNEWS
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W A S H I N G T O N, April 18 — U.S. intelligence officials have uncovered evidence of a potential terrorist attack, ABCNEWS has learned. Like many such tips, it is vague, but the government is disturbed enough that it held a rare conference call with local police to warn them.

Allah: UPDATE: Condoleezza Rice draws an obvious conclusion but Allah can't wait that long: [snipped quote] A-bomb loves the skyscrapers! But he plans on staying out of New York for the...

Charles Johnson: Operatives "In Place" — ABC News has a report that intelligence officials have uncovered evidence of an imminent terror attack against the US: Officials Warn Police of Potential...

Bush Letter Cites 'Crusade' Against Terrorism
Reuters
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Years after President Bush set off alarm bells in the Muslim world by referring to his war against terrorism as a "crusade," the word that Arabs equate with Christian brutality has resurfaced in a Bush campaign fund-raising letter, officials acknowledged on Sunday.

Nick @Agonist: Bush Letter Cites 'Crusade' Against Terrorism — Years after President Bush set off alarm bells in the Muslim world by referring to his war against terrorism as a "crusade," the...
Mary InLosGatos: Bush/Cheney On A Global Crusade — Just as things are deteriorating badly in Iraq because of the gross mistakes and their deaf ear to the aspirations of the Iraqis who do not want...

Atrios: Yet Again — Morons: Years after President Bush set off alarm bells in the Muslim world by referring to his war against terrorism as a "crusade," the word that Arabs equate with...

Now Can We Talk About Health Care?
By Hillary Rodham Clinton / NYT
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I know what you're thinking. Hillary Clinton and health care? Been there. Didn't do that! No, it's not 1994; it's 2004. And believe it or not, we have more problems today than we had back then. Issues like soaring health costs and millions of uninsured have yet to fix themselves.

Pejman Yousefzadeh: HEALTH CARE REDUX — Revisiting her policy Waterloo, Hillary Clinton has written yet again in favor of her vision of health insurance. Robert Tagorda has considered her arguments,...
David Allan Pell: A decade later, Hillary on Healthcare.
Libertarian: MY FAVORITE POLITICIAN (besides Traficant of course, but he's locked up until 2009) re-enters the fray over socialism.

Michael DeBow: Now Can We Talk About Health Care? asks (?) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in this longish article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. (Hat tip: Jonathan Adler on The Corner.)
Jonathan H. Adler: BE AFRAID — Be very afraid — for the future of health care.

600 Macs, 4,000 Lines, One Giant Leap for DVD's
By Fred Kaplan / NYT
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Permalink
ON the second floor of an unassuming office building on the edge of Burbank, John Lowry is forging what might be the future of the DVD — and, with it, the way that classic films will be stored, preserved, telecast and watched.

James Joyner: Next Generation DVDs — NYT: 600 Macs, 4,000 Lines, One Giant Leap for DVD's [RSS] An interesting piece on new technology that will vastly improve both the visual quality of DVD...
Gary Farber: REAL HI-DEF DVDs, and 600 G5 Macs. [snipped quote] Yeah, but they'll still be sealed in a really annoying way. Read The Rest Scale: 3 out of 5 if you're into techno-geekery.

Edward Driscoll: The New York Times describes it as "600 Macs, 4,000 Lines, One Giant Leap for DVD's".

10 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq Fighting
By Sewell Chan / WaPo
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Permalink
BAGHDAD, April 18 — Ten U.S. troops were killed in combat across Iraq on Saturday and another two died in accidents, the military announced Sunday, raising to nearly 100 the death toll for what has already become the deadliest month for the American military since the start of the war in Iraq.

Jeanne: The end — Far from Najaf and Fallujah, five Marines were killed over the weekend, in a battle in the city of Qusaybah (or Husaybah), near the Syrian Border.
David Adesnik: WHO KILLS AMERICAN SOLDIERS? Ten more soldiers lost their lives today during combat in Iraq. What I can't tell from the news coverage, however, is whether they are dying in battle...

Cori Dauber: But at this point, if you take this article as an example, we're talking about two or three substantive stories, each of which is fairly fully developed but each of which suffers...

The Last Iraqi Insurgency
NYT
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Is the United States willing or able to strike back with comparable ruthlessness? Unlikely — if last week's gambit of unconditional cease-fires is any indication. Washington seems intent on reining in the Marines and pinning all hope on the handover of power scheduled — apparently irrevocably — for June 30.

Tom Maguire: Finally, Niall Ferguson provides some history on Iraq; we provide some history on Niall Ferguson of Oxford, Jesus College.
Daniel Drezner: They didn't want to break the country — but they're nonetheless stuck with the proof of purchase. UPDATE: Niall Ferguson compares the Iraq of 2004 with the Iraq of 1920.

Tom Smith: Wrong lesson from the past — It's not Vietnam; it's the British experience in Iraq (linked to, with disapproval by Brian Leiter).
Stephen Green: Required Reading — British historian Niall Ferguson compares the American experience in Iraq today, with Britain's in the 1920s.

Taegan Goddard: Rice Says Woodward Is Wrong — Condoleezza Rice said "that the president decided in March 2003 to go to war against Saddam Hussein, not in January 2003," as Bob Woodward's new...
Matt Welch: Today, Condi Rice has been issuing heated denials: "It's just not the proper impression that somehow Prince Bandar was in the know in the way that Secretary Powell was not.

Mary InLosGatos: As Steve noted the other day, Woodward reported that relations between Cheney and Powell were so bad that they are barely on speaking terms. Not so, says Condi.

WHAT IRAN WANTS
By Amir Taheri / New York Post
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WHILE Washington is looking for ways to adjust its strategy in Iraq, Tehran seems to be preparing to "settle scores" with it by preventing the emergence of a pro-American regime in Baghdad. The Iranian leadership appears confident about its chances to call the shots in Iraq.

Roger L. Simon: I couldn't escape thinking of Orwell's famous characterizations of certain antiwar factions as "fascifists," when reading Amir Taheri's What Iran Wants in today's New York Post.
Betsy Newmark: Amir Taheri has a depressing look at what Iran is trying to accomplish in Iraq. "In Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States, for reasons of its own, destroyed the two regimes that...

Saudis pledged oil price cut before US vote-report
Reuters
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, promised President Bush the Saudis would cut oil prices before November to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day, journalist Bob Woodward said in a television interview Sunday.

Mark Kleiman: 2. The Saudi Ambassador promised to knock down oil prices in time to help the President get re-elected. 3.

Did Clinton Do Enough?
By John Cloud / Time
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Earlier this month, Bill Clinton returned to Washington to try to convince the 9/11 commission that as President he did what he could to stop Osama bin Laden. Others who have testified before the commission—particularly National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and former...

Betsy Newmark: For all the fuss about Bush talking to the 9/11 Commission with Cheney, why no mention of the fact that Clinton took Sandy Berger and Bruce Lindsey along with him when he...

Taegan Goddard: Clinton said he told Bush in that meeting that bin Laden would be his No. 1 national-security problem," Time magazine reports.

Blair 'misjudged' Iraq violence
BBC
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The prime minister has conceded he did not expect the security situation in Iraq would become so unstable. Speaking to American television following talks with President George W Bush, Tony Blair said the coalition underestimated resistance.

Jim Henley: Must - Control - Snark - of - Death! - From the BBC: [snipped quote] Advice to any Iraqi readers: Do not get anywhere near Paul Bremer on June 29th.

Stirling Newberry: Prime Minister Tony Blair admits that he is right even if he has been wrong about everything. Rice calls Woodward a liar. Kerry calls Bush "stunningly ineffective".

Capt. Yee's Muzzle
WaPo
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THE ARMY HAS a message for Capt. James Joseph Yee: Keep your mouth shut. Mr. Yee, you'll recall, was the army's Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until he was arrested last year on suspicion of spying.

Andrew Sullivan: APOLOGIZE TO YEE: The military needs to apologize to Captain James Yee, the Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, who was smeared, attacked, prosecuted and now muzzled by his...

Gary Farber: ARMY VS. YEE. The Army certainly has the right to do this to Captain James Yee. But is it right to do it?

Rice: U.S. Bracing for Terror Before Polls
AP
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WASHINGTON - The United States is bracing for possible terrorist attacks before the November presidential election, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday. The opportunity for terrorists to try to influence the election, as was the case last month in Spain, appears to be an opportunity that would "be too good to pass up for them," Rice said.

Tim Dunlop: All our fingers are crossed and we have our lucky rabbit's feet poised with extreme prejudice — Condoleeza Rice laid the groundwork for answers to questions in front of the next...

Oliver Willis: November Terror — Rice: U.S. Bracing for Terror Before Polls The opportunity for terrorists to try to influence the election, as was the case last month in Spain, appears to be...

Dean needed two more weeks for his comeback
US News
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They've had two months to figure out what went wrong, and now some of Howard Dean's key strategists think they know why he fizzled after his dismal Iowa showing. No, it wasn't the scream. He just didn't have enough time to stage a comeback a la Bill Clinton in 1992.

Taegan Goddard: Dean's List — Howard Dean's friends "reveal that he is raising money for former rival John Kerry with his extremely profitable E-mail list," U.S. News and World Report's...

Robert Garcia Tagorda: Republican Redemption — As far as I'm concerned, this decision makes up for the "manufacturing czar" fiasco! [snipped quote] Of course, we shouldn't be surprised if this story...

Charles Johnson: Straight Talk from Canada — At the National Post, George Jonas says America must find its national purpose to beat the terrorists.

Ted Belman: America must find its national purpose to beat the terrorists — It will need to reconsider decades of ultra-liberalism George Jonas, National Post There's a demand for Pax...

Some Candidates Turn To Blogs to Place Ads
By Brian Faler / WaPo
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A.B. "Ben" Chandler has sparked a virtual gold rush. Back in January, during the waning weeks of his special election campaign for the House, the Kentucky Democrat spent $2,000 on ads on 11 blogs. It was, at the time, a novel idea.

Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the Washington Post ran an interesting piece over the weekend on the success candidates have had with their blogads .
Steven Taylor: Blog Ads for Campaigns — Here's a WaPo piece on something we al, no doubt, noticed months ago: Some Candidates Turn To Blogs to Place Ads.

SLZoll: The Washington Post does: Back in January, during the waning weeks of his special election campaign for the House, the Kentucky Democrat [A.B.

Eton to appoint imam to help understanding of Islam
Telegraph
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Eton College is to become the first top public school in the country to appoint an imam to help pupils gain an understanding of Islamic culture and thought. Tony Little, the headmaster of the Berkshire school, has written to parents to reassure them that the school will remain an Anglican, Christian school.

Charles Johnson: UK Dhimmitude Watch — Britain's most exclusive school, Eton College, is appointing an imam to promote Islam to the children of Britain's upper crust: Eton to appoint imam to help...

Andrew Stuttaford: FLOREAT ETONA? Eton, the most famous and, with the greatest respect to my alma mater, probably, the finest of the English 'public' (private) schools is to appoint an 'imam'.

DemFromCT: Two Iraqi Headlines — Bremer Says Iraqis Not Ready to Secure Country; 5 Marines Killed "BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 18 — The American administrator in Iraq said today that recent...

Kevin Drum: The New York Times: "The chief spokesman for the American military said five American marines were killed on Saturday in a prolonged gunbattle that started when they came under...

Spanish Leader Pulls Troops From Iraq
AP
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MADRID, Spain - Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday he had ordered Spanish troops withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible. While Zapatero had run for office on a promise to withdraw Spanish forces from the U.S.-led coalition, the timing of the announcement was unexpected.

Baldilocks: Spain Bends Over — Slink back to your country—forsaking your agreement, your promise, your honor—and see if it keeps them from attempting to turn you into Muslims, dhimmis or...

Charles Johnson: They Shall Have War — Acting within hours of being sworn in as Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Zapatero has ordered the immediate removal of all Spanish troops from Iraq.

Mom sues Coors over son's death in accident
AP
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RENO, Nevada (AP) — The mother of a 19-year-old killed in a traffic accident is suing Coors Brewing Co., claiming that it promotes underage drinking. Jodie Pisco, of Reno, contends Coors has failed in its duty to protect the country's youth from drinking.

William @SouthernAppeal: It's the Brewer's fault. The story is tragic. A 19-year-old boy drinks too much at a party, gets behind the wheel, and crashes the car into a light pole at 90 mph.

No Crystal Ball
LAT
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WASHINGTON — North Korea likes Sen. John F. Kerry. Radio Pyongyang has been broadcasting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's speeches along with the regime's predictable denunciations of President Bush. The North Koreans are hardly alone.

Michael Totten: He quotes from a piece in the LA Times by Moisés Naím, editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine, about how history makes a president more than the other way around.

Roger L. Simon: Here are two more from Moisés Naím's op-ed from today's LATimes Opinion section: The world is bound to feel goaded by statements such as "working with other countries...

The Truth About 'the Wall'
By Jamie S. Gorelick / WaPo
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The commission investigating the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has a critical dual mission to fulfill — to help our nation understand how the worst assault on our homeland since Pearl Harbor could have occurred and to outline reforms to prevent new acts of terrorism.

Roger L. Simon: First we have had to sit through one of the most meaningless hearings in modern American government history—the 9/11 Commission—which reached its apotheosis of self-serving...
Cori Dauber: MORE FROM MCCARTHY ON GORELICK — Yesterday, 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick felt enough pressure regarding the arguments that she might have a conflict of interest that she wrote...
Tom Maguire: Jamie Gorelick On "The Wall" 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick, wacked by John Ashcroft during last week's testimony, responds to the critics of "the Wall" separating domestic...

Hugh Hewitt: Jamie Gorelick has penned an op-ed for the Washington Post protesting her innocence of the charge that she built "the wall" between criminal investigations and terrorism...
Stirling Newberry: Gorelick demolishes Ashcroft's allegations that she created "a wall" that hindered investigations. Interesting to note that 911 Commission members are receiving death threats.
Captain Ed: Gorelick Swings, and Misses — Beleaguered 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick, whose memo strengthening the so-called "wall" between intelligence-gathering and law-enforcement...

Nafta Tribunals Stir U.S. Worries
By Adam Liptak / NYT
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After the highest court in Massachusetts ruled against a Canadian real estate company and after the United State Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal, the company's day in court was over.

Jesse Walker: The Fine Print — Reader Rick Barton sends me an interesting article from yesterday's New York Times.
Brad DeLong: The fact pattern appears to be as follows: Prominent Mississippi family sues prominent Canadian family in contract dispute: "Nafta Tribunals Stir U.S. Worries: The Mississippi case...

Daniel Drezner: Your critical reading assignment for today — First, read this New York Times story on NAFTA's tribunal system and their supposed encroachment on state judiciaries. Then, read Brad...
Nathan Newman: Check out this article describing the international judicial review under the NAFTA agreement of US court decisions that corporations don't like: "Any Canadian or Mexican business...

Gary Farber: THE DEATH OF JUDY'S FATHER RESULTS IN OVER FIFTY YEARS of increased government right to secrecy. Based upon a goverment lie. What an extraordinary story, and piece of journalism.

Phil Carter: History of the 'state secrets' privilege: Sunday's Los Angeles Times has a very artfully written history/news piece on the history behind United States v. Reynolds, the case where...

Behind Diplomatic Moves, Military Plan Was Launched
By Bob Woodward / WaPo
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Shortly after New Year's Day 2003, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had a private moment with President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. Bush felt the effort to get United Nations weapons inspections inside Iraq on an aggressive track to make Saddam Hussein crack was not working.

Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the Washington Post runs the first excerpt from Woodward's book. Plan of Attack Buy from Amazon.com for just $19.04
Digby: Fools Rush In [quote] The media reports of smiling Iraqis leading inspectors around, opening up buildings and saying, "See, there's nothing here," infuriated Bush, who then would read...[end quote]

David Allan Pell: Woodward Outtakes
DemFromCT: As you read Dowd or Woodward, or watch 60 Minutes, or scan the morning headlines remember one thing.

Pejman Yousefzadeh: FILLING THE VOID—FOR NOW — Tim Blair has the details on the new leader of Hamas, and how he got the job (here's a teaser: he was the default candidate).
Tim Blair: SECRET REVEALED — The new leader of Hamas is Dr Mahmoud Zahar: "Within hours of the killing of Abdel Aziz Rantissi by the Israelis, the Palestinian militant group Hamas chose a...

Scott Burgess: Carnival of the Absurdities — Richmond Oduku isn't happy. The convicted criminal, who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence, claims that the Royal Mail lost his watch...

Behind Diplomatic Moves, Military Plan Is Launched
By Bob Woodward / WaPo
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Shortly after New Year's Day 2003, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had a private moment with President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. Bush felt the effort to get United Nations weapons inspections inside Iraq on an aggressive track to make Saddam Hussein crack was not working.

James Joyner: Woodward Book, Part I — Today's WaPo has a lengthy excerpt from Bob Woodward's latest book, "Behind Diplomatic Moves, Military Plan Was Launched." The thing which seems to have...
Matt Yglesias: The Bush Campaign — From Woodward with comments in brackets: [snipped quote] I think going negative against John Kerry was probably the smarter move.
Jack Balkin: Not Wanting To Talk, Not Wanting to Hear — Colin Powell comes off pretty good in the excerpts from Bob Woodward's book that I've read so far, but there is one passage that is...

Matt Welch: Bandar's Briefs — Much to chew on from Bob Woodward's latest; the most interesting (and potentially sickening) to me is the contention that Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin...
Sylvain Galineau: Hence my relative surprise in reading the following in Slate's usually excellent today's papers column (emphasis mine) : "The Post runs another excerpt from Bob Woodward's...
Betsy Newmark: Read the Washington Post's first installation of Woodward's new book. Those who hate the President will stress Cheney's bellicosity or the closeness between Bush and Prince Bandar,...

3 Die in Shootout Between U.N. Police in Kosovo
By Nicholas Wood / NYT
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LJUBJLANA, Slovenia, April 17 — Two American women working as prison guards with the United Nations in Kosovo were killed Saturday and 10 other Americans and an Austrian working as prison officers were wounded when a Jordanian, also with the United Nations, opened fire on them, officials said.

Greyhawk: UN In Action — The New York Times reports a fierce gunbattle between members of the multinational UN peacekeeping forces in Kosovo has resulted in the deaths of at least two...
Baldilocks: But the New York Times (registration required) says that the UN claims that no words were exchanged between the two groups before the exchange of gunfire. You know what I think.

Gary Farber: THE UN IN KOSOVO. What is going on here? (See also here.) [snipped quote] These reports are too early to make sense of this. I do hope some sense is soon made of it.

Violence in Iraq will get even worse, says Blair
By Melissa Kite / Telegraph
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Tony Blair will tell MPs tomorrow that Britain should be prepared for worse violence in Iraq in the coming weeks. The Prime Minister believes that British and American troops must brace themselves for "acts of desperation" by anti-Coalition rebels as the June 30 deadline for the handover of sovereignty in Iraq draws closer, senior advisers to Mr Blair said...

Tim Dunlop: And here's another thing, and it is a question for John Howard, Richard Armitage, US Ambassador to Australia, Tom Schieffer, and all the other people who have condemned opposition...
Nathan Newman: Brits to Leave If Asked by Shias — If the Sadr insurgency evolves into a more general Shia rebellion, Bush better not count on the Brits to help: [snipped quote] Yet pissing off...

Kevin Drum: From the Telegraph: "The commander of British troops in southern Iraq, Brig Nick Carter, admitted that he would be powerless to prevent the overthrow of Coalition forces if the...
Juan Cole: Meanwhile, the British military is extremely concerned about the possibility of a general Shiite uprising in Basra, according to the Telegraph: ' the commander of British troops in...

Revolts in Iraq Deepen Crisis In Occupation
WaPo
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BAGHDAD, April 17 — In the space of two weeks, a fierce insurgency in Iraq has isolated the U.S.-appointed civilian government and stopped the American-financed reconstruction effort, as contractors hunker down against waves of ambushes and kidnappings, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

Phil Carter: The Iraqis Sunday's Washington Post carries this article by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Karl Vick on the front page which does a great job of detailing the effects of the last three...
Kash: Pretty Much Sums It Up — The miserable failure that is the Bush administration's Iraq policy can pretty much be summed up by this quote from an Iraqi in today's Washington Post: ...

Mark Kleiman: That will show you how completely our official policy has lost touch with reality. Update The Washington Post has more bad news.

Tim Blair: WEALTHY WILLY — The Daily Telegraph's Chris Hastings has some interesting background on a prominent Brit commie: "Will Hutton, Britain's foremost critic of capitalism and an...
Stephen Pollard: This story about Will Hutton's fabulous hypocrisy (and this one, too) will bring a smile to your face on a dull Sunday.

Andrew Stuttaford: I'll leave it to the Daily Telegraph to tell you a little more about this paragon of progressive thought: [snipped quote] Well, unless Hutton, perish the thought, is an utter...